What connect us
by mayrapatkitty
Summary: Sakura and Sasuke meeting after Sasuke's Story Book (with references to Naruto: The Last). SasuSaku.


Hello! Well, first at all, sorry for my bad english, but I appreciated constructive criticism :) This story takes place after the end of the epilogue of Sasuke's Story book. The more SasuSaku in my life, better.

* * *

Sasuke stopped for a moment, looked up at the sky, and changed directions. _"It's been a while… maybe I'll go home?"_

He wasn't afraid to be involved anymore. The way forward was set.

Sasuke started walking.

Ahead… was the village of Konohagakure.

 ** _Sasuke's Story Book - EPILOGUE_**

* * *

"Sakura-chan"

She heard someone call her. He was one of her subordinates. Currently, Sakura was always busy in the hospital, and also teaching the new ninja doctors. She wasn't patient enough to hear this particular subordinate since he hadn't yet given up on calling her out. She was too busy studying a new antidote for a particular poison that was mainly affecting the children of the leaf village. Apparently, the children were having fevers when they have contact with the sand of the playground. Sakura needed the help of Shino Aburame, who discovered that the poison came from an insect that was proliferating in the hot sand. With the playground temporarily closed, Sakura could have more time to study and find a cure for the already sick children.

"Sakura-chan?", _he doesn't give up, damn_.

"What?", she asked testy.

"Sorry to bother you, but Hinata-chan is waiting for you in the lobby. She looks anxious", her subordinate pointed out. Hinata was the newest married in the leaf village. Not only for this, but also for having married the hero of the fourth Great World War, Naruto Uzumaki, both were one of the biggest novelties in the village. Three months after the wedding and Sakura still expected some complaint from Hinata.

 _Hope you didn't do anything to hurt her, Naruto!_ , she was already snappy and thinking about skinning his face on the floor as she walked furiously to the lobby to meet Hinata.

"Sakura-chan"

"Hinata, what—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Hinata hugged her gently, it seemed as if nervousness overflowed over her. She looks really anxious, Sakura observed.

"Sakura-chan, I came as fast as I could. Naruto-kun left the house immediately upon hearing the news. He asked me to warn you", Hinata said shyly.

"Hinata, did something happen?", Sakura asked worriedly.

Hinata compose herself and finally replied, "It's Sasuke-kun. He's back to the village"

 _It's Sasuke-kun. He's back to the village._

Thoughts flooded Sakura in that instant. _He's back_ , she wondered what that meant. He's back, but how? He came back to receive some kind of special mission where he would be gone for a few more years and give a sign of life with periodic letters of few words or... back for real? What does that mean? Could he redeem himself from his sins as he had said to her three years ago? Did he meet anyone in particular in the last three years? _No, stop with that, Sakura,_ she soon ignored painful thoughts. Sasuke wasn't the kind of man who let himself be shaken by women so easily. In fact, she didn't even know if Sasuke ever gotten involved with anyone. His desire for revenge for his brother Itachi, and then for the leaf village left him too busy for it. But then... _stop right now, Sakura!_

"Sakura-chan?", Hinata pulled her out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry", she replied still nervous, happy, anxious, she could not say, "I was just thinking about how much time has passed... things have changed", she replied quickly. Hinata can't ignore the sadness of her answer.

"You're right, things change. But you once said that when a person loves someone, that is not something easy to change", Hinata remembered when Naruto explained to her how Sakura had helped him to realize her subliminal message when she had followed Toneri Otsutsuki.

It made Sakura smile, but it did not make her forget her doubts.

"Thank you, Hinata... but... I have a job to finish. Some parents are worried about the health of their children, I need to work on the antidote", saying that, she left a puzzled Hinata in the lobby, and without looking back, she went back to work.

* * *

"Leaving, Sakura-chan?", The secretary asked her in the hospital lobby. Sakura just waved with tiredness, "Have a good night", Sakura didn't even have the energy to respond, giving only another nod of thanks.

Sakura didn't have much to carry in, only one medium-sized purse was enough to carry in everything she needed. And at that moment, all she needed was a warm bath and sleep as if there were no tomorrow. She was doing her best to not let her thoughts come to _him_ again. She didn't want to go to bed crying as she often did. It wasn't what she wanted for her. She needed to get him out of her head. _Immediately_.

"Sakura," she was so busy ordering her brain not to think of a certain person that she didn't even notice his presence at the hospital gate.

There he was, radiant, strong, confident, _handsome as ever_ , she couldn't help think about this. Sasuke was a little different from the last time she saw him. His black hair was more spiked, and a dark blue ribbon was tied to his forehead. His _rinnegan_ was still in his left eye, while his right eye was the color of his hair. He wore a type of brown poncho that completely covered his clothes, leaving only half of his legs down exposed. It wasn't just physical change she'd noticed, something inside him had changed as well. In the past, his eyes had a sort of stinging, a thirst for revenge — eyes of pure hatred. Now his eyes — even with the _rinnegan_ —were calm, nicely, curious. Something about him showed that he had had many experiences over the past three years, experiences that had made him change internally as well.

 _How much he has changed?_

"Sakura", he caught her attention a little nervous. Sakura couldn't help but notice that he seemed a little embarrassed to be in front of her. _Is he nervous?_

"Oh, sorry. I'm just tired. I spent four days at hospital working on an antidote, and now I can finally sleep in peace", she replied happily. Without even wanting it, her mood changed completely in his presence.

"You really are working too hard... Naruto told me you were going nuts", he commented. She didn't know what surprised her the most, whether he told him what he thought about her job or the fact that he _actually_ heard Naruto.

"Maybe you're right", she replied. They were both looking at their feet, not knowing what else to say. Someone would have to take action.

"Sasu—"

"Sakura, can I walk you home?", He interrupted her. This kindled a flame in her heart that she wouldn't know if she would be able to put out the fire when he left again. All she could remember was the thousands of times she volunteered to have lunch or dinner with him after a mission, and he simply got away of her, leaving her alone with an excited Naruto to have her for all by himself. She didn't know what to answer, it was as if she had lost the ability to reason.

"I'll face your silence like a no", he said a little irritably, but not with her. He seemed to be having some internal discussion. "Sorry to bother you", saying that, he turned his back and before he even took the first step, she called him.

"Sasuke-kun... I... would love to have your presence. There are a lot of things to tell you, it's a good opportunity to catch up, isn't it?", she replied shyly. He had that effect on her. _Why does he seem so nervous?_

Standing and still with his back to her, he couldn't turn around, he didn't want her to see his expression, "Sakura, I don't want to bother you", _his voice... seems like... is he suffering?_

"Sasuke-kun, you would never bother me, I'm glad you returned", she said sincerely.

"I don't want to make you suffer even more...", but it was too low for her to hear.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"I..." he was still on his back, his face was still, apparently he was staring at some random spot, "I'm not afraid to get involved anymore."

"What do you mean?", she was confused where he wanted to go with this conversation.

"I ..", he seemed to be struggling to find the right words, "I've spent so much of my life ignoring people, not letting them get close to me. Avoiding any contact. And the more I tried, the more I realized that I was failing. I clung to my new family... to 7 Team. And then, I sank into darkness and tried to cut off all the ties I had, and yet... you and Naruto... never let those ties fall apart."

"We care about you, always"

"Naruto... is like a brother to me", he ignored her answer and continued, "an annoying brother, someone with whom I share the same kind of pain. Someone I know I can trust", Sasuke smiled as he recalled his annoying friend, "it was thanks to him that I came back to me, that I gave up the whole history of revolution, and decided to redeem myself, to pay for my sins", he looked to what was left of his left arm as he spoke, "and you…", he seemed more and more nervous every second, "you never gave up on me, just like him. Naruto and I shared the same pain, that's what connect us, that made us friends. But... what connect us, Sakura?"

That didn't surprise her. She was already expecting that. But even knowing what would come next, she didn't expect to feel a stifling pain as she was feeling at the moment. She couldn't even breathe.

"Sakura—"

"No", she cut him off, panting, she still tried to say more words, "you don't have to explain anything to me. I already knew... but you know... I moved on. I'm not that little girl who was always running after you. I'm not _that_ girl anymore. I've grown, I've matured, I... I'm not who you think I am", she almost screamed.

Sasuke turned and looked her straight in the eye. She could see through his eyes… she saw suffering. It took a few seconds for one of them to speak again.

"You... did you meet anyone else?", he asked quietly.

"What?" That question caught her off guard. She no longer understood where the conversation was leading them.

"I've heard gossip while I've been here... and since I arrived, I couldn't help noticing how the men in this village talk about you. Be honest with me, please... I can handle it", he said in a stifling voice, still staring into her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun…", she was speechless.

"When I left… when I said 'see you next' I was asking you to wait for me a little more... I know I was being selfish, and I don't have the right to ask you that, but even so, I asked it... I .. couldn't bear the thought of you moving on without... me", Sasuke took a step toward her this time, still looking into her eyes, "I wasn't ready to correspond your feelings... I was so confused in relation to everything... I wasn't ready... to love someone else", that made Sakura almost jump from her place.

 _Love... someone else?_

"Sakura, I've been denying this feeling for years, even in our _genin_ years. My goal was revenge... and not letting myself be carried away by the feeling of love"

 _What?_

"I never let my feelings get in the way of my goal, this is why I refused so much to stay in your presence, but there were times when you were so annoying...", he give her a quick smile, "I couldn't keep you away for so long."

 _What is going on?_

"Sakura", saying that, he took a few more steps until he reached her personal space, "Thank you, for everything", and with that, he touched his fingers on her forehead affectionately.

They were so close… this caused a frantic electric current between them. Sakura was so confused about Sasuke's words... she always thought he wouldn't correspond her feelings, but... why did it look like he was afraid _that she_ wouldn't correspond to his feelings?

"Are you still capable of loving me?", he asked softly, looking down at their feet, unable to maintain eye contact this time.

 _Sasuke-kun..._

 _Sasuke-kun..._

 _Sasuke-kun..._

 _I always loved you and I always will._

Totally in reverie, joy overflowed over her. She couldn't think of anything else. All her body and soul could feel was Sasuke, right in front of her, and by the way, giving a declaration of love she would never have imagined.

Sasuke lifted his head and looked directly into her eyes. Her eyes glittered, and that was enough to make him even more encouraged. Moving closer to her face, he tilted his head a little, and with his right hand, he touched her chin, lifted it a little toward his lips.

"… I never"

"Neither do I", he replied cheerfully and then touched his lips to hers. It was a long kiss, no tongue contact, just lips. That was enough to answer every question from both of them. Moving away a little, Sakura can get back to reality a little, and finally ask what she wanted most.

"Are you back for real?"

"Yes ... but I have some missions to fulfill yet, I didn't finish what I had to do", he replied, his lips still touching hers.

"I... can I go with you?", she asked uncertainly, remembering his response three years ago when she had asked to go with him on his journey.

"Yes", he replied with a smile that Sakura had never seen before. This was too much for the heart to bear.

"Sasuke-kun"

"Huh?"

"Thanks"

"For what?", he asked confused. It was he who should thank her for allowing him in her life.

"For letting me love you", it made him smile even more than she had seen seconds earlier. She couldn't tell how much she could bear it. His smile... was something she'd quickly used to. And it had not been a minute since she'd witnessed it.

"Sakura", he called her, touching his forehead with hers, and closing his eyes in ecstasy, "can I walk you home?"

"I would love to", she replied, corresponding to his genuine joy.

With that, they both walked to Sakura's house, holding hands, and promising inwardly... _never to leave each other again._


End file.
